Pylontech US5000 alarm light flashing

[FarmingMartin]

Hi had my system working for a few days now but have just noticed the red alarm light is flashing on the battery.
The charge level lights are on but the run light is off.
Does this sometimes happen for no apparent reason. I have read else where you can reset the battery.
If I turn it off and then switch it back on should that reset it.
Pylontech US5000

 

[FarmingMartin]

Hi had my system working for a few days now but have just noticed the red alarm light is flashing on the battery.
The charge level lights are on but the run light is off.
Does this sometimes happen for no apparent reason. I have read else where you can reset the battery.
If I turn it off and then switch it back on should that reset it.
Pylontech US5000

Update now alarm light has gone off and run light back on with no intervention ftom me. Now I am confused anyone any ideas?

 

[Don B. Cilly]

If you turn the switch off then on, then press the red button, it should.
Still, the red light is a BMS fault. Possibly overcharge. What was the voltage on it?
-

 

[SeaGal]

You could connect an RS232 console to the admin port to find out what alarm triggered?

 

[FarmingMartin]

If you turn the switch off then on, then press the red button, it should.
Still, the red light is a BMS fault. Possibly overcharge. What was the voltage on it?
-

Unfortunatly I am not home so can't tell, i have a cheap camera monitoring the LEDS and saw the light flashing, all I do know is it's only charged to 2 LED level. And now the alarm has gone out.

 

[FarmingMartin]

You could connect an RS232 console to the admin port to find out what alarm triggered?

Where do I get this and what is it?

 

[SeaGal]

The pylons have a console port that you can connect via RS232 to a PC/laptop - I don't have pylons, but I read about software to read the data here..

Youda's off-grid LAB

powerforum.co.za

and here..

GitHub - irekzielinski/Pylontech-Battery-Monitoring: Adding WiFi monitoring to US2000B and US2000C batteries.

Adding WiFi monitoring to US2000B and US2000C batteries. - irekzielinski/Pylontech-Battery-Monitoring

github.com

the latter with you tube link too.

 

[FarmingMartin]

The pylons have a console port that you can connect via RS232 to a PC/laptop - I don't have pylons, but I read about software to read the data here..

Youda's off-grid LAB

powerforum.co.za

and here..

GitHub - irekzielinski/Pylontech-Battery-Monitoring: Adding WiFi monitoring to US2000B and US2000C batteries.

Adding WiFi monitoring to US2000B and US2000C batteries. - irekzielinski/Pylontech-Battery-Monitoring

github.com

the latter with you tube link too.

Ok thanks will look into that. Although it seems to of rectified itself now

 

[Don B. Cilly]

Two LEDs is very unlikely to be overvoltage (which is the only time I saw the red LED, about a year ago).

Since then I told my charge controller to charge at a lower one... still, it would be good if Pylontech allowed for some monitoring of the BMS.
I wrote to them, they sent me a Windows thingy and some cabling instructions.
I got so fed up of messing around with serial post settings and crossing wires I gave up.

My (self-assembled) other battery uses a JK BMS which has a (rather crappy) Bluetooth app that at least tells you what the BMS complains about if it does. If it doesn't do it again... I wouldn't bother, really.
-

 

[SeaGal]

Further thought... when you get back, check the Solis Alarm Message logs - maybe the Solis will have logged some detail that gives a clue as to what the pylons got so upset about

 

[FarmingMartin]

Further thought... when you get back, check the Solis Alarm Message logs - maybe the Solis will have logged some detail that gives a clue as to what the pylons got so upset about

Ok had a look and as far as I can tell it says low voltage.DMS see attached photo. Any idea why this would be or how to stop it happening again. As already said it seems to of corrected itself now.

 

[Solar Guppy]

The battery BMS is messaging low voltage, so likely you do not the communications connected and / or functional so the inverter doesn't know when to stop pulling energy from the battery?

 

[FarmingMartin]

The battery BMS is messaging low voltage, so likely you do not the communications connected and / or functional so the inverter doesn't know when to stop pulling energy from the battery?

From another site I was told to change the communication cable from the one supplied with the inverter which the installers used to the one supplied with the battery which I have now done. Not sure why it says low voltage when the battery is showing roughly 20% charged.

 

[Solar Guppy]

From another site I was told to change the communication cable from the one supplied with the inverter which the installers used to the one supplied with the battery which I have now done. Not sure why it says low voltage when the battery is showing roughly 20% charged.

You need to look at the inverter setting for maximum discharge and also confirm the battery data is being received by the inverter.

Just connecting a cable does not mean it is working or configured correctly.

If it is reporting correctly at the inverter, and you don't have an alternate source for power, it means your loads are to large for the battery(s) you have.

20% SOC mean the battery BMS will likely shutdown soon, again could be battery is to small

 

[FarmingMartin]

You need to look at the inverter setting for maximum discharge and also confirm the battery data is being received by the inverter.

Just connecting a cable does not mean it is working or configured correctly.

If it is reporting correctly at the inverter, and you don't have an alternate source for power, it means your loads are to large for the battery(s) you have.

20% SOC mean the battery BMS will likely shutdown soon, again could be battery is to small

Hi we are connected to the mains so It's not that we don't have an alternative source of power. The battery has already stopped discharging as its hit the level of discharge which is set at 15%.
I forgot to look earlier but again this morning the alarm light is flashing DOC now 11% measured by inverter and showing 11-30% via battary LED, not sure if alarm was before putting on the kettle or not. What I do know is the battery has never fully charged since we got it a month ago because the weather has not been to good could that have any effect? Do you think setting it to charge fully from the grid a couple of times may help? The system was installed and set up by so called professional installers so the settings should be right but I have no idea what they should be that why I sid not install it my self. Any advise on what the settings should be would be a great help so I can check them all out.

 

[FarmingMartin]

Just also checked inverter data and its saying battary voltage 45.6v, discharge setting 80a.
Should I up the discharge from 12% back to the default 20% and force charge from 10% back to 15% to see if that helps.
Other settings are battery type Pylon which according to inverter book will set to correct settings with only the DOC and forced charge settings needing to be set.

 

[FarmingMartin]

Hi we are connected to the mains so It's not that we don't have an alternative source of power. The battery has already stopped discharging as its hit the level of discharge which is set at 15%.
I forgot to look earlier but again this morning the alarm light is flashing DOC now 11% measured by inverter and showing 11-30% via battary LED, not sure if alarm was before putting on the kettle or not. What I do know is the battery has never fully charged since we got it a month ago because the weather has not been to good could that have any effect? Do you think setting it to charge fully from the grid a couple of times may help? The system was installed and set up by so called professional installers so the settings should be right but I have no idea what they should be that why I sid not install it my self. Any advise on what the settings should be would be a great help so I can check them all out.

Just an update I think I may know what was happening. The inverter has now performed a forced charge and the alarm has gone off.
I had the discharge limit set to 15% with a forced recharge at 10%. Overnight the charge level has dropped to 11% then someone must of dropped to 10% so forced the charge. I think I need to up the levels to 20% discharge level and 15% forced charge level and see if that solves the alarm issue.
I am also guessing the discharge overnight is the inverter drawing from the battery to power it.
Any thoughts on this from anyone.

 

[SeaGal]

My "guess" is that the reported SOC from the pylons has drifted from its 'real' amount. You should be able to go to 10% ? without a low-voltage alarm - after all, pylon promote 95% DoD capability.

So, as a start I'd do a manual charge via the Solis to get the pylons up to 100% SOC ?- that should re-calibrate their BMS to a known starting point. Then take it from there and monitor ?.

In normal operation you should be able to use battery power down to the 15% discharge limit and then if, overnight, the Solis 30W consumption drains the battery down to 10%, the Solis should just do a force charge _before_ any BMS low voltage alarm is raised.

 

[Don B. Cilly]

Well, since you do have a way to recharge them even in bad weather, why not set discharge limit to 25% or more.
The fact that you can discharge them to 10% doesn't mean they like - in fact they probably don't.

To prolong your batteries' life it's probably best not to overdischarge them - or charge them.
Mine, I never discharge them past 70% - simply because I can (I draw very little) but I also set the maximum charge voltage to 27.8 (which would be double that for 48V) simply because I believe more is unnecessary.

Also, those SOC LEDs on the Pylons don't seem to me very precise. I have a Victron SmartShunt that has very different opinions on it.
-

 

[FarmingMartin]

My "guess" is that the reported SOC from the pylons has drifted from its 'real' amount. You should be able to go to 10% ? without a low-voltage alarm - after all, pylon promote 95% DoD capability.

So, as a start I'd do a manual charge via the Solis to get the pylons up to 100% SOC ?- that should re-calibrate their BMS to a known starting point. Then take it from there and monitor ?.

In normal operation you should be able to use battery power down to the 15% discharge limit and then if, overnight, the Solis 30W consumption drains the battery down to 10%, the Solis should just do a force charge _before_ any BMS low voltage alarm is raised.

Thanks for the advice I was wondering if that might be the issue as I said having them fitted this time of year and thecinitisl problems i had they have never actually charged fully yet.
I will set a charge time tonight to get them charged up to 100% and as you say go from there.